What do you think about Obamacare?

Re the privacy issue.

There are no medically specific questions asked when you apply at healthcare.gov, other than whether or not you smoke. Previously when you applied for PRIVATE health insurance you had to disclose all of your pre-existing conditions. Thanks to the ACA that is a thing of the past. You can not be denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions. As a result there is no reason for anyone to disclose them. (Thank you President Obama!)

I have health insurance through my employer. Each year, my deductible and my monthly contribution have increased. I've worked here 9 years, so this has been going on since before Obamacare was even on the table. Meanwhile, the profits of the insurance companies have been soaring in spite of the rotten economy. Whatever glitches there may be in implementing Obamacare, I trust the government a lot more than I do the insurance industry. At least the government is answerable to us, the voters. The insurance industry isn't answerable to anyone except its shareholders and overly paid CEOs. I say, Medicare for all!

Again, try to stay away from unfounded rumors, myths and hearsay. All those do is promote fear when no fear should be part of your life regarding the Affordable Care Act.

Go to legit websites to get your answers to the Affordable Care Act.

And don't forget, those who are losing their health insurance are doing so because said insurance did not qualify under the guidelines, which is very important. If you went to the ER or had to have surgery/hospitalization, that insurance wouldn't cover 10% or 20% of the total cost... you would be responsible for the vast majority of the expense.

If you did have excellent insurance and the insurance company is leaving your area, it would have left no matter if the Affordable Care Act was in place or not. Health care insurance is a business no different than any other business. If they find the competition to high in an area, they will close shop in that area.

We just went through a round of getting new insurance coverage at work. We had been paying for an individual policy for our son, who is 25 and currently in drug rehabilitation. I was told that, because I have insurance through work, and because he was a dependent on our taxes last year (and will be this year), I have to put him on my insurance at work. Surprisingly, though we had paid $140 a month for a high deductible policy that does not meet the new guidelines, adding him to my company policy was only $104 a month... and provides much better coverage and a much lower ($500 vs $2,000) deductible. In a few months he will turn 26 and we will go through the insurance exchange to find coverage for him.
One thing, though, when I looked at the exchange, I saw that most policys have a "coinsurance" rather than a "copay". Not a fan of coinsurance. If you have 20% coinsurance a $200 doctor visit would cost $40. Right now my copay for a regular doctor is $25.. and $40 for a specialist. We were told that next years plan may have coinsurance. Yuck.

I haven't applied for Obamacare yet, but on Healthcare.gov website, don't you have to disclose some classified data, such as your social number... etc? I don't care if the whole world knows about my pre-existing conditions, but my social number, hmmm. I know, I know, pre-existing conditions are not on the table. Still, while applying you enter more than just your name. And this can be hacked?

Furthermore, how do I know a website is legit? Are there any websites that are neutral, no vested interest, on the subject? I personally can't trust a government-ran website that was messed up at the onset.

Yea right like I have a choice

Consumer Reports is about as unbiased as it gets. They take no ad money. Here's their info. I heard yesterday they're now recommending people use the website, as it's finally stable enough. This article also has lots of useful links. If they take the link out, just go to consumer reports - it's a dot org site and search on healthcaredotgov and you'll find the article.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/12/healthcare-gov-adds-window-shopping-feature/index.htm

TRICARE® For Life Pharmacy Pilot Program
Learn more about the mandatory mail program President Obama signed into law.
After March 14th, 2014, TRICARE For Life (TFL) beneficiaries, taking select medications, will be required to switch to TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery or a military pharmacy. Those who continue to fill at a retail pharmacy will pay 100% of the cost of their medication after two fills.
Hopefully our Elderly Military retirees have other health insurance besides Tricare for Life.
HAIL TO THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES DICTATOR WHO NEVER SERVED AND GETS FREE HEALTHCARE FOR HIM AND HIS FAMILY!

We are required to have auto insurance, in some ways, required med insurance would also make sense.
A long time ago, someone said that government has wanted to get its mitts on the money from the health sector. It wants the money, period.
Also, as far as I'm concerned you can always tell Obama is lying is when his mouth moves.
don't trust government any farther than you can overthrow it.

I'm hoping it works out. If not, it's back to bankruptcy insurance for my daughter's healthcare when she turns 26, and watching caregiver parents suffer from lack of healthcare options as I follow their Medicaid-covered kids in clinic. We need a conscience provision, but otherwise I support it fully. It is insane for this country to fail to provide healthcare to the people aged 18-65 who make up its backbone as working adults. It is discouraging as h*** to have the knowledge and the technology but not the funding to deliver it to people who need it, and to be able to give special needs kids what they need only to turn them over to the adult side which may provide little or NOTHING the moment they turn 21.

I just signed up and I am thankful since I have a pre-existing condition. I kniw all of us baby boomers are waiting for the day we can apply for Medicare & supplemental insurance at a lower cost. My thought is, why not lower the Medicare age and let people apply for supplemental insurance? Most of the long term conditions such as diabetes, etc. could be circumvented if people could afford to go to the dr!

Debralee, the President and his family have free health care by the White House doctor, but anything else out of the scope of an office visit is billed to the President's health insurance provider, and the President does need to pay co-pays and deductibles. This was the same when George W. Bush was in office, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, etc.

Spoony, you do have a choice, in fact two choices.... if you feel uneasy about using the ACA clearinghouse website to get health insurance, you can call the ACA and sign up using the telephone.... or call the health insurance companies directly.

I realize this is a 3-4 yr. old thread, but I'd like to comment on it since we have the benefit of time now.
I have no idea how anyone can afford the insurances offered through ACA. My mother's insurance went from $380 a month for BC/BS, $20 copays, $0 deductible for office and routine visits, and $1000 deductible for catistrophic prior to Obama and ACA. Also, she had cancer in early 2000s and it remained the same coverage, basically the same price, and she was not dropped. Then Obama was elected and her insurance premiums for the exact same coverage went up several hundred dollars a year. This went on for several years and she had to keep getting different insurance for worse coverage and was paying a lot more than the $380 she had been paying. By the time she was able to get Medicare, she only had 2 insurance companies to choose from and her insurance was $1240 a month for $10,000 deductible for catastrophic, $5,000 deductible for routine doctor visits before her insurance would kick in and then she would pay $35 copays.
ACA has greatly benefited the insurance companies. Their revenue jumped dramatically and their coverage is now minimal. Hats off to the insurance lobbyists who were able to push this through D.C. Single payer would be worse as competition is what drives prices down.

The only way to have truly competitive and the best insurance is to make insurance companies have to compete for people to buy their insurance. Currently they have quassi monopolies divided by states. Policies should be truly free market. The free market works for the benefit of the buyer and government works for itself (politicians) and lobbyists these days anyways.

My bio dad had a life insurance policy through Ford motor. I'm not sure how things were set up after his retirement, but it was obviously able to be paid out after his death. I'm in the middle of an estate case now where we're dealing with an apparent fraudster and what we found our pointing more and more in that direction. If you're dealing with anything that involves money, be very wary, the vultures are definitely out there seeking to get what they can and as much as they can without getting caught, not knowing eventually it'll catch up to them

Although it needs improvement, without ACA no one would sell me health insurance because I have a pre existing condition. I kept working ( though I knew I shouldn't) until ACA kicked in. I was always afraid I'd lose my job. Now I'm afraid ill lose the protection of ACA. I don't qualify for a subsidy so, yes, it's expensive. But I am one crisis away from bankruptcy without health insurance.

Here here, chiye5! My sentiments exactly.
Single payer will indeed be worse.
I am disappointed in Congress’ inability to get anything done re ACA yet...thank you Senator McCain who actually campaigned for reelection toting the need to repeal & revise the ACA (the opposite platform) and then voted against it. People in Arizona are struggling to get coverage as their marketplace choices are few. 
The ACA needs to be rewired.  For those with preexisting conditions, I agree they should be covered & think that will continue.
We need free market insurance as yes there are only a few carriers left. Monopolies should not be allowed.

Health insurance for people with pre-existing conditions is problematic. You can't insure against a certainty, is the salient principle; so cover has to exclude costs associated with the identified condition.

But there's no reason why financial companies couldn't devise some kind of payment plan, instead. Except that it would probably be unaffordable for many people.

Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes... we don't want people to die from preventable causes. But large numbers of the people suffering from these conditions simply do not have (and never did have anything like) the money it costs to live with them. So, okay - how much, and who's paying?

I get the impression that John McCain can't see anything much past a red mist these days, can he? - and who can blame him. Ahh, the art of outraging abso-bloody-lutely everyone! I don't think I've ever seen it accomplished quite so thoroughly as this before.

Another huge issue is pharmaceutical cost. I attended a meeting with 5 PCP’s a few days ago and they presented examples of some of their patients obtaining the same prescriptions from Canada via mail order and the ridiculous difference in cost between the two.
Another of their complaints (these are a really nice group of PCP’s) is that there are only a few inhalers to treat asthma & COPD and the cost of those inhalers are all so high and the docs don’t have alternatives thus this is a cost they can’t control.
Another thing we discussed was the high rate of rehospitalizations. PCP’s get “dinged” on this. The docs stated the real reason the rehospitalization rates are so high is because the hospital discharges sick patients too quickly. I know from being a RN that folks are discharged with no teaching the families or even the patient on what to do to get healthy. No discharge planning and it is heartbreaking. 
I only wish we could have a honest bipartisan discussion about something so important that is 20% of spending in the US. I am actually plenty disgusted with both parties.

I am not sure why single payer would drive costs up. It doesn't in any other country. Medicare is single payer. Some countries have single payer with the option of additional insurance. Not sure how that works. I was stunned recently when I had a severe asthma attack while traveling in the UK. I went to a national health care urgent care facility. I was seen immediately, treated within in 30 minutes and paid $40 (US equivalent and they apologized they had to charge me, lol. A similar episode at home cost $150 for  copay).  Then the follow-up prescription I bought at a private UK pharmacy was 1/3 what I pay at home in US. The packaging wasn't as pretty though. I know there are issues in other countries too but we have a hot mess here. Can't we look at what works elsewhere and adapt?

Rosyday, you did make me smile :) Not long ago my daughter was doing a shift in A&E in central London and she and her colleagues were much amused by an American lady found wandering around after treatment searching for the "Please Pay Here" sign - they suggested she make a donation to the children's unit if she wanted to. NHS staff tend to forget about charging non-UK citizens if they possibly can. After all they've been indoctrinated practically from birth in the principle of treatment according to need, free at the point of delivery, and it goes against the grain to distinguish on the basis of nationality either.

Which is fine and lovely, but...

She also did six months' training in HIV medicine at the same hospital, and as far as I remember not one of the in-patients was a UK citizen. Not one. These people did *need* their treatment, and never mind facilities, in the sort of places they came from even being diagnosed with HIV would lead to total ostracism or worse. I am glad they received good care. But we are a small and insolvent country, it's no use pretending we can just magic up resources out of thin air no matter how worthy the cause.

I can vouch for the high cost of inhalers . I only use half the amount I am supposed to because of the cost.

It's saved a lot of lives, imo. Very grateful, indeed.

Quote: "It's saved a lot of lives, imo. Very grateful, indeed."

Sunnygirl, what has saved a lot of lives? Obamacare? Not for everyone. A good friend of mine died of cancer last year because he couldn't afford insurance, as a direct result of Obamacare. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he was told that his treatment would cost him a minimum of $500,000. That's insane. So, he couldn't do the treatment, and passed away 8 months later.

Another example: My husband and I are self-employed. Once Obamacare went into effect, I lost my doctor that I had had for over 20 years, and our premiums doubled, and then doubled again. Our cost this year would have been $1,200 a month, with a $6,000 deductible!! Could you afford that? We can't, so we have no health insurance.  (And yes, the $1,200 is even through the ACA.)  I'm in my 40's, quite healthy, and for the first time in my life, can't afford insurance. And no, we don't have high income. It was either pay our mortgage, or pay for insurance.

I can tell you countless more stories from people that I know directly, who now have insanely high premiums, or can no longer afford insurance. And, I've actually had people say to me, "Well, at least the poor people have insurance now." How is that ok?? How is it better, when millions of middle class, hard working Americans can no longer afford insurance? It's not all warm and fuzzy stories of people getting great insurance for $87 a month, so people need to get their heads out of the sand, and realize that the system is still broken. I actually had a friend who is A NURSE walk out of the room while I was telling her how Obamacare has affected me. She thinks it's great, and didn't want to hear my side of things. That's unacceptable. You can't just pretend that there aren't people who are hurting, as a direct result of Obamacare.

My view on Obamacare: It's damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It's good for some and not good for others - and I've personally experienced both of these effects. I support helping people less fortunate - but I also don't want the government in my face telling me I'm required to buy a product (especially one with details I don't need such as a vasectomy coverage when I'm clearly a female!) that meets their approval - or else I'll have to pay a fine.

I'm Independent politically because I like a little bit of both parties. However, I don't believe "we're all in this together" kind of mantra. Everyone bears some personal responsibility for their lifestyle choices that eventually affect their health. Why should I help subsidize the coverage, why should my premiums increase for a person who needs diabetic medication but refuses to lose weight and cut back on their poor diet habits?

The UK has already implemented rationing - to save their socialized healthcare system from bankruptcy. Last year, it was reported in Forbes Magazine that obese and smokers will no longer be eligible for knee and hip surgeries. And other types of rationing is expected.

If something isn't done to control costs - whatever this is - in our healthcare system, eventually we'll also see extreme rationing here.

It's not rocket science, it's just simple economics 101: You can't keep expanding and expanding the demand of healthcare, i.e. Obamacare, when the supply (taxpayers and business) will eventually run out out steam and then there's little means to refuel the supply.

There's a reason why the very wealthy overseas living in a socialized healthcare system pay - whatever it takes - to come to the USA for their medical treatments.

Our healthcare system isn't perfect by far - but we have choices - and we take very, very good care of the indigent via Medicaid.

I have Obama care and it keeps me alive. When you are an epileptic, medication is what keeps someone like me alive. With seizures, there is always a chance of dying from something called Sudden Death from epilepsy and medication decreases that chance. My medication without Obama care costs $600 a month. Almost two weeks of pay for me. If I were to go and buy private insurance, I would pay at least $1,500 a month but I pay $300 and I can actually go to a my doctor for women's wellness check ups, go to my doctor when I am sick and affordable the antibiotics. I pay next to nothing when I get my birth control. I can hardly afford myself, I can't support a child. People who have had childhood cancer or where born with a heart condition would pay out the butt on the private market. Is Obama care perfect? H*ll no and could use work. To get the Obama care to work, you have to reform the health care system. Create more stringent requirements before people use hospitals and doctors, create caps on what people can be charged for tests. A much needed MRI should not cost someone $5,000 out of pocket.

There are all kinds of variations that make people's experiences different, but, I know a lot of low income people who paid over $1000.00 per month for one person's coverage BEFORE the Affordable Care Act.  

Things need work, of course, but, I think it's possible to make it work.  For people who have medical conditions that are out of their control, like Type I diabetes, epilepsy, etc.  staying alive without health coverage is not possible. Insulin, supplies, blood tests are so pricey.  

Sunnygirl is right. It needs work. Really I would prefer universal healthcare to get around all this craziness, but I know the AMA, insurance companies, and pharmaceuticals don't want it. They have a lot more influence than ordinary people do, so I doubt we'll see universal for a while.

WhirledTravel, did you not qualify for some type of subsidy? I had bcbs insurance for years. It cost $350 a month before the ACA. The premiums nearly doubled when the ACA went into effect. I couldn't afford that, so I went to the marketplace and qualified for a subsidy. This year my premium had increased to almost $1.1K a month, but the subsidy also increased. I have very little income coming in, but I have retirement savings, so couldn't qualify for Medicaid even if I wanted to. I was grateful for the subsidy, because I wouldn't be able to afford the increase in the cost of premiums without it. The trouble is that I would have preferred to be able to pay totally by myself. It hurt my pride to have to have a subsidy.

The response of the insurance companies and the politicians pretty much doomed the ACA. There was a lot that went on. This morning the POTUS signed something that will make the ACA even worse. Too bad Congress couldn't work to fix the problems with ACA instead of causing even more chaos in our healthcare.

BTW, Medicare is also on the chopping block

No, I don't qualify for a subsidy. 

Married couples without other dependents can qualify for some subsidy as long as they make under $62K gross income a year. I think that was pretty nice for working class people, even though it was sad that a small capital gains tax was levied on investments of people making over $250K a year. The last bit did sit uneasy with me, since it was a lot like taking from the rich and giving to poor folks like myself. I'd much rather have universal care that people all put money into.

I'm trying not to be rude here, and maybe you're just trying to help, but I can assure you that we don't qualify for any subsidy. We are intelligent business owners, we did the research. You don't know our financial situation, and I don't feel that it's necessary to fully explain it here. You could just trust me when I say that our insurance would have been $1,200 per month for 2 healthy adults in their 40's, and that that amount is not affordable.

So yes, for millions of Americans, Obamacare really is a financial hardship. And this is an honest question that I would like to hear an answer to - Why is it so difficult for people to come to terms with that, without making excuses?

This subject is incredibly frustrating to me, so I'll refrain from posting further about it. This is why I don't usually discuss Obamacare anymore - so many people just don't, can't, or won't "get it", and it's really hurtful to read things like, "At least the poor people have insurance now", or "At least MY pre-existing condition is covered!" That's great for those people, but how do you think those comments makes me feel, after I've told my story about how I can't afford health insurance? I know we're behind computer screens and all, but it makes me feel like crap, and like those of us who are now uninsured, don't matter to the rest of you who are.